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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam Ferguson who wrote (16210)	5/23/1998 7:52:00 AM
From: KMT	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 39621

All: Just thought I'd share some thoughts about the latest rash of violence among our youth, particularly in light of what happened in Oregon and Arkansas. I'm saddened and disgusted at the continued violence we see among our young people. Everyone's ready to blame someone...society, the media, parents, etc. Unforunately, I don't find these latest incidents as surprising. I think it's a natural outcome of the continued devaluation of human life in our society. Go ahead and label me as a right-wing Christian nut, but please hear me out first... Abortion. Whether you are pro-abortion or pro-life, you have to agree that killing a baby (or potential baby for those that are pro-abortion) shows no regard for human life (or potential human life for my pro-abortion friends). In general, the media, politicians, and those on the pro-abortion side show no remorse, and don't seem to be saddened at all by the millions of babies (or potential babies) that are being slaughtered every year. We've been doing it for 25 years now in the name of choice. People get quite a mixed message when we tell them human life is valuable and we shouldn't kill each other when there's an entire industry doing it or at least snuffing out a whole generation of potential human beings. Evolution. When people are taught they're nothing more than a highly developed animal...nothing more than a sophisticated monkey...with no purpose, no reason for being...that devalues human life. Social Darwinism would dictate survival of the fittest. Is someone with a gun that blows away someone without one fit? Media. The amount of violence that people witness(not just children) in the movies, television, news, and music is staggering. Deaths and murders by the tens of thousands are seen and heard about every year by most people. Unfortunately we see little showing of the consequences of the deaths (both for the families of the victim and for the murderer). Why don't spend 10x the coverage on the shattered lives of the families of the victim as we do on the act itself? Let people begin to feel compassion for those who's lives have been destroyed. Also we need to send the message that there's a price to pay for the criminal. Most people think there's very little consequence to murder. So what, I serve 15-20 in a nice federal institution and get out in 7-10 on good behavior and with a college degree to boot. Relationship. Many of you may find this strange but I think another large contributor to violence among our youth is they have no or little relationship with those in authority (particularly their parents). Rules without relationship yields rebellion. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and to Mount Sinai to give them the law, he wanted to speak to all of Israel. Israel said "no", Moses you go speak to God and tell us what he says. They wanted rules but no relationship. God wanted a relationship. Of course Israel rebelled at every turn. Without a relationship with God it's impossible to keep His commandments. Applying the same principle, most children have only rules from their parents and very little relationship. Without the relationship which forms a basis for authority, you'll eventually get rebellion. Even for parents that do their best to instill in their children a healthy fear and respect for God, respect for life, and the environment, it's an uphill battle. Too many mixed messages for our kids. I believe we'll continue to see more and more of this until our society as a whole returns to a firm foundation. Anyway, enough of my thoughts. Time to enjoy reading yours. Cheers, KMT